禅Nagarjuna

proverb

Friendly Letter to a King

Suhṛllekha

Indic

Traditionally attributed

Text

I wrote to a king: rule with patience as if the kingdom were your own body, and not as if your body were the kingdom. The king who confuses these orders ends up wounded by his own taxes.

tr. Zen Lineage editorial

license: cc_by

Attribution

Lineage: Indian Patriarchs

By Nagarjuna

Sources

  • contentEssays in Zen Buddhism, First Series

    D. T. Suzuki

No per-field confidence has been recorded for this teaching yet. Treat individual claims with the caution appropriate to the source list below.

Attribution status: traditional — see editorial policy for what this means.

1 supporting citation on record (see Sources above).

Spot something wrong? Report an issue — please include a source so we can verify the correction.